Just a quick post to any folks in the Central PA area who’ve got an event coming up in 2010 that they would like to add the special touch that ‘Craft Cooked’ BBQ does!  We are offering a 5% discount off the total price of ANY sized event booked for 2010 prior to December 31st!  That means that you can lock in at 2009 prices AND save 5% on your total tab.  It’s a great deal on our Wood Smoked BBQ products and all of the made-to-order sides, appetizers and desserts we offer!

…While we keep the smokers burning year ’round here at GreatQ4U!, it sometimes seems like we don’t think as much about competing at this time of year as we should!  SO, I’m fixin’ to change that this year!  We’re immersed in thinking about next year’s competition plans and I personally would like to commit to doing more than one or two big KCBS events!  In fact, I’ve had this itching for a few years to do this one in Enid, Oklahoma….just to do it!  Who knows, this could be THE year!

I would never complain about our many customers during the Spring and Summer months and the business that we are fortunate enough to have which keeps us from travelling to do competitions.  It is afterall, what allows us to compete.  If you’ve been watching TLC’s “BBQ Pitmasters” show, then you can get a grip on all of the logistics involved in competition BBQ.  If you’re serious about competing (if you’re not, why compete?) then it’s a heck of a lot more than tossing a smoker in the truck and heading on down the road!  Before every competition, there are weeks of planning; selecting and sourcing the right meats, making sure that the sauces and rubs are dialed in and adjusted (SLIGHTLY) to please the palates of the judges, packing up the trailer, double and triple checking the trailers, lining up the team and making sure that they are all on board and aware of the plans…I could go on!

All of the logistics of competing could and would interfere with providing our paying customers with the best “Q” possible, which is why it’s been so hard for us to do both as often as we’d like.  We are taking a close look and doing our best to change that this coming year.  My guess is, now that folks are seeing it on their ‘moving picture boxes’ weekly, there will be quite a few new competitors in 2010!  Which is good news as long as they all understand that in addition to the competition, BBQ is about having fun and being among friends!  As I have mentioned in previous posts (and this IS true), have you ever seen anyone eating BBQ without a smile on their face?  Not all of that is from the meat, it’s also about the context; good friends, good times and BBQ…they are a natural mix!

OK…with all of that said, we are always looking for folks to join our Competition team!  You don’t have to be an expert, you just have to be a TEAM player who wants to compete seriously, but also to enjoy the whole Competition experience.  You’ve also got to be a member of the KCBS (www.kcbs.us) which is my requirement, because they could use our support and it’s been a great experience for me!  It wouldn’t hurt if you’ve got some competition experience, but a true love of “Q” is the only serious prerequisite!  If you’re interested in being a part of the team, shoot me an e-mail (Jim@GreatQ4U.com) or call the office: 717-254-1937 and we’ll talk!

I wish you and yours a Merry Christmas and a safe, happy holiday season!

Jim

“You’re Dr. Galakewitz?” – or so the shortlived (but quite humorous) Beer commercial went during the Super Bowl a few years back!  Spawnning a number of follow up commercials and ultimately, ambiguity for the campaign that led to it being replaced by the next big thing in advertising!  Well…this entry has NOTHING to do with beer OR commercials, but it has something to do with TV.  Yep, this season marks the pinnacle of attention that BBQ and its Pitmasters have ever received from the general public at large, thanks entirely to the new series “BBQ Pitmasters” on The Learning Channel.  Just like American Choppers, Hotrods, et al, we’ve finally made it!

So it would seem anyway.  I guess that it’s truly a good thing to have such a broad interest in real BBQ that it makes it to lots of folks TV sets a couple of times a week these days.  It’s even better for the Kansas City BBQ Society (KCBS – www.kcbs.us) and all of us teams, judges and members because it gives creedence to the difficulty involved in making ‘Competition Quality’ BBQ.  I’m sure it even helps to drive up membership in all of the National and Regional BBQ Associations.  It just seems funny to me that an art form that’s been in existence since perhaps the cave men (and women) walked the earth, is just now getting this kind of attention!

For all of us true “Q” lovers, it is a passion to experience and produce authentic, smoked BBQ products.  We drive or fly or ride our bikes to BBQ joints across the country just for a sandwich or some ribs or brisket. (Shout out to Arthur Bryant’s for one of my personal favorites!)  We can detail for just about anyone who asks where and when we’ve had the pleasure of eating truly GREAT BBQ, they are memories that never fade.  Some of us had to learn to cook it and then aquire all the trappings of a ‘Pitmaster’ to reproduce “Q” that we ate before since we didn’t have any close to where we live! (North of the Mason Dixon line, but only physically)  Others are multigenerational BBQ gurus!  All have a common thread that binds us together, a love of BBQ!

SO….what could be bad about a TV series you ask?  I think that as with everything you can, in fact, get too much of a good thing!  I mean, have you seen Boyd Coddington screaming at any shop employees on TV lately?  That’s just one example, there are many more.  Also, as I have watched several episodes of the show now, I have seen how some could draw the conclusion that competitors are drunks, or mean spirited or confrontational.  Without question, KCBS events are competitive and the folks in them are serious about their craft, but it’s been my experience in several years of competition or as a KCBS Judge that some of the nicest, kindest folks in the world compete in BBQ competitions!  Folks are more than willing to lend a hand, even before you ask!  There’s some consumption of icy cold, adult beverages, but for the most part, it stays in check.

I guess what makes good TV doesn’t necessarily reflect all of the things about BBQ that I love so much, but it does bring awareness to this incredibly difficult to achieve skill….making Great “Q”!  So for that I am thankful and hope that it inspires more folks to get involved in competition and better yet, in eating some GreatQ4U! (GreatQ4U.com)  I’m interested to hear what y’all think of the series and more than happy to answer any “Q” related questions you might have!  As for competitions…Pork-In-The-Park, Salisbury, MD – April 16th & 17th, 2010…be there, we will!  (So will over 100 other teams…its a BIG event and the folks who put it on make sure that there’s stuff for the whole family to do!)

Merry Christmas one and all!

Jim, Pit Master; GreatQ4U!

Chicken Thighs

Well, now that the Thanksgiving holiday is behind us and Black Friday is upon us it’s time to start thinking about all those upcoming Holiday events!  Heck, it’s time to start booking your 2010 events as far as that goes!  Our calendar is filling up for the Spring and early Summer months next year and we’d LOVE to add your event.  Our 2010 Menu is going to change a bit, but our current favorites will all still be there, so if you’ve got a Holiday Party, Family Gathering or Company event coming up, think about adding some slow cooked, wood-smoked, ‘North Carolina Style’ BBQ!  We keep our smokers burning year round and what a great way to share good times and create memories with friends and family! 

Our pulled pork is cooked with the NC tradition always in mind…low & slow over Hickory and some Apple wood and MAN is it tasty!  Add a bun, some Carolina Style Vinegar Slaw and a bit of Hoover’s Southern Fusion BBQ sauce and it’s a marriage made in heaven!  Actually, it’s made here in South Middleton Township along the mountain…but you get the point!  We offer something for everyone in addition to the Pulled Pork, we’ve got incredible ‘Beer Can’ style smoked chicken which gets to soak up not beer, but an incredibly fragrant and tasty blend of fresh herbs and chicken stock, delivering a taste that is hard to beat.  We also have tremendous, lip smackin’ ribs that once beat the guy (Butch) who’s ribs beat Bobby Flay’s on the Food Network’s ‘Throwdown’ TV show…I think that means that they’re pretty tasty!  Finally our Beef Brisket is a taste of Texas right here in Central PA!

All of our meats, sides and desserts are prepared to order for your event and are served to you and your guests as fresh as can be.  Our smoked meats come right off the smoker and straight to your event, our sides are home made and complement our “Q” perfectly and our Desserts are sure to please.  We offer a variety of catering options for all types of events and are capable of serving 25 to 1500 folks with over 350 square feet of smoker space!  AND…as if that’s not ENOUGH to tempt your tastebuds…we are offering a 5% Discount on ANY sized 2010 event booked by December 31st!  That’s a 5% savings and you’ll lock in at 2009 prices…not a bad deal for Black Friday!

SO..if you’ve got an event coming up and you want something a bit different, consider our craft cooked meats and sides, it will be a meal that folks remember for some time!

It’s been a while since my last post and I have no reasonable excuse to offer other than the standard ‘been busy’ line, so I’ll spare you!  Thought a quick update on what’s been going on around here might be in order:

• We’ve begun the process of looking for the right Co-Packer to do a commercial run of Hoover’s Sauce this Winter.  It’s an arduous process and there’s LOTS of opinions and possibilities out there, so I sure would appreciate any advice or experience that readers might have with or about co-packers!  Heck, then I’ll need to ride that distribution learning curve too…so once again, any help….much obliged!
• We’re actively working on a complete re-vamp of the menu for 2010 and so far have been having fun with concepts and test recipes…more news to come on the ‘10 menu soon!
• Still putting together plans to open a walk-up/concession location in early Spring, financing (as always) is the issue these days!  We have now included an “Investors” page on the website (www.GreatQ4U.com) which following initial conversations to insure sincerity and commitment, folks interested in being a part of GreatQ4U! will have a chance to take a detailed look at the plans and the numbers.  If it all makes sense for them, we’ll offer a package that offers the opportunity to earn a substantial return on your investment.  All the while investingating traditional financing options as well.
• Keeping the smokers burning!  We’ve got test recipes, competitions and lots to do in the coming months, so we keep the Hickory and Apple burning!

So, that’s all I have to say about that!  It’s APPLE SEASON…take the family to Adams County, PA this weekend and pick up LOTS of apples! – jak

I know that in some context I say this every year and I have since this whole crazy odyssey began, but NEXT year we are definately going to spend some time on the competition trail!  You see, back when this all began it was in our home kitchen brewing up a BBQ sauce.  Not just ANY sauce mind you, but “Hoover’s” sauce!  It was my goal to develop a primarily vinegar based ‘red’ sauce (just like most folks in North Carolina prefer) that could actually win a comptetition.  You see, back then and to a significant degree still today, vinegar doesn’t win competitions.  It seems that the majority of judges prefer some thick, sweet smokey sauce…at least that’s MY impression.

With that in mind I made batch after batch of sauces to try and strike just the right balance between the two.  In fact, I made so many batches that good friends began to cry “Uncle”, reminding me that they already had several bottles of my sauce.  I wasn’t deterred by their pleas for mercy and kept loading them up!  Finally after nearly 5 years, ‘Hoover’s Southern Fusion’ sauce was born.  With a touch of Kansas City, a smidgeon of Memphis and a whole lot of those North Carolina roots it was still a discernably vinegary sauce, but I thought it just might have a chance!

With the sauce complete, I embarked on learning the fine art of choosing the right meats and tending the Pit.  It was a steep learning curve and I had LOTS of help from others who were involved in KCBS competitions on a regular basis.  While it didn’t take as long as I thought to become proficient at the Pit, I’ll steal an analogy from my golfer friends and say that learning to swing and send the ball in the general direction you want it to go is one thing, building the perfect swing is another thing entirely!  So, I continue to work on my techniques to this day and have had a lot of fun doing it!

While friends kind of complained about the bottle upon bottle of sauce that they had piling up in their kitchen cabinets, I never have heard any complaints about the ziplock bags of Pulled Pork, Brisket or Chicken!  Alas, it was all that handing out freshly smoked meat that led to the beginning of the catering business.  Ever since then, it’s been cater, competition, cater, cater and more catering!  I am certainly not complaining, I love to meet new folks and even better to find new fans of Hoover’s sauce!  BUT, this whole thing started out as a way to win in a competition using a non-traditionally favorite sauce of the judges! 

We’ve had a blast year after year at Pork-In-the-Park in Salisbury, MD and then moved on to our busiest season for delivering GreatQ to parties, weddings, family gatherings, events and even a Hoe-Down (not sure how to spell that)!  However, I would like to spend some more time on the competition circuit and next year we are going to do just that!  Finally I am coming to the point of this ramble…if you are interested in being on the GreatQ4U! BBQ Team, we’d LOVE to hear from you.  I would request that you join (if you’re not already a member) either the Kansas City BBQ Society (www.kcbs.us) or the National BBQ Association (www.nbbqa.org) before contacting me so you’re already on the way.  Better yet, join BOTH…as well as your local BBQ Association too!  Membership will bring with it a great deal of access to knowledge along with a support group of fellow BBQ enthusiasts!

Once you’re a member of the Associations, shoot me an e-mail (Jim@GreatQ4U.com) or call the office at 717-254-1937 and we’ll talk about your interest, your availability and we all have to offer each other!  Hopefully this will lead to a more consistent presence at KCBS events across the country in 2010!  I look forward to hearing from you and wish you happy “Q”! – jak

Well at least those are the plans!  As I have hinted many times before and even given small details, I thought I’d blog about what we plan to do over what used to be the ’slower’ Winter months this year.  We are quite grateful for all the customers that we have and for the many new fans of Hoover’s Southern Fusion sauce!  Here’s to the Vinegar lovers out there….not that we don’t like you ‘thick & sweet’ sauce folks, we’re just a bit different that way!  To be honest, we are butting up against full capacity and something’s gotta’ be done to allow us to accomodate growth!  NOW, I say that knowing that too much of a good thing can often turn it bad and as a guy who is committed to first and foremost producing high quality, wood smoked meats and home made sides.  That said, we’ve got to do something and for that I’ve got a plan!

We are fortunate enough to have some great friends at Blue Mountain Outfitters (www.bluemountainoutfitters.net) in Marysville and Doug’s willing to let us have a temporary presence there during peak months to help fill the bellies of hungry paddlers and passerbys alike.  SO, I have been working for months now to design a Concession trailer that also houses a Commercial Catering Kitchen.  This would allow us to accomplish many different things; first of all it will help meet our goals for rational expansion, secondly it will give us greatly enhanced abilities to provide complete off-site options to our service lines, thirdly (if that’s a word) it will allow us to provide an expanded menu and it will also allow folks to have GreatQ on demand by simply walking up to our windows!

All that said, we still have a few hurdles to overcome.  Choosing the right rig is imperative to this working out right…I’ve got it narrowed down to a few builders, but am not yet ready to pull the trigger, so-to-speak!  Also, as you might imagine, financing in this economy is challenging to say the least.  In fact, we are exploring a number of options, including offering up a piece of the action to customers or investors looking for an alternative to traditional investments with a higher return than just about anything out there.  Again not procrastination, but deliberative contemplation.  (See, I can use big words!)  Finally and most importantly, we’ve got to do this without sacrificing the “Q” since that IS the reason for all of this insanity!  We started out with a goal to make authentic, real-deal BBQ and I intend to keep it that way!

So, for now we move along down the path of steady growth and expansion with a bit of trepidation and lots of good friends to support us.  As if that isn’t enough, I am actively seeking a packer to bottle up a good sized run of Hoover’s sauce for all you fans out there, but same deal…not willing to sacrifice quality for quantity, not now, not ever!  Anyone with any ideas, please feel free to toss them my way!  I’m always appreciative of assistance.  I hope everyone has a safe and Happy Halloween, look out for all those Ghosts and Goblins while you’re driving around at night! – jak

GreatQ4U! BBQ Catering in Central Pennsylvania

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Who says?  Heck, as I am typing this the World Series has yet to begin!  They are the ‘Boys of Summer’, why is this weather in the Northeast SO miserable?

As luck would have it, I’m not that big of a baseball fan to begin with (don’t hate me for it) but it sounded like a good line to start a Mid-Fall blog entry with!  Just a few things to say today so you all don’t feel like I have abandoned the blogosphere!  We are keeping busy as the leaves begin to drop, which I appreciate VERY much and hope to keep up all Winter (banish the thought) long.   Smokers are burning night and day and I’ve seen a few customers smile as that Pulled Pork sandwich is ripped with their teeth…so all is well in “Q”-ville.

All of this smoking has been keeping us a bit distracted from the 2010 Menu which will include some old favorites and some new additions.  We are trying new recipes and scouring the country to find out what the ultimate BBQ side dishes are and I’d be interested in what you’ve got to say too!  Let me know what your favorite BBQ side dish is and perhaps it’ll make it onto the Menu.  In fact, if it’s REALLY good, I’ll even name it after you…how about them apples?

That’s it for now…keep on keeping on!

jak

Fall has always been my favorite season for a whole bunch of reasons, not the least of which (I assume) is that I was born in October!  SO…all you other October children out there, here’s a big Happy Birthday shout out!  In addition to Birthdays, there is the crisp cool air that greets you every morning and the hint of a change in the color of the leaves on the mountain!  In a few weeks the colors will be in full glory and I’ll be reminded even more why Central PA is such a nice place to live and work!  Finally, as it pertains to BBQ (I may have mentioned this before), cooler weather typically means a bit longer on the smoker for our “Q”, which I believe lends itself to a bit tastier product!  Alas, that’s just MY opinion…you should try some and see for yourself!

We’ve got LOTS going on around here wrapping up the busy Summer season and preparing for the influx of Holiday Party and Family Gatherings to come.  We’ve still got plenty of room to add your event if you are looking to offer your guests a BBQ treat in the next couple of months!  We are also still offering a reduced Booking Fee for any 2010 event booked by Halloween, if you’d like more details you can call us at 717-254-1937 or shoot me an e-mail: Jim@GreatQ4U.com

Thanks again to all of our clients who got to share the love this past summer, we truly appreciate your business!  We are working on adding quite a bit for 2010, including a whole new menu that will feature our traditional favorites along with many new offerings that will be sure to tempt your taste buds.  Our progress toward opening a walk-up service location on the West Shore is slowly coming along, but like so many other things we are measuring our growth as the economy continues to lag!  If you are interested in helping us to grow, please don’t hesitate to let me know, I am always open to suggestions and help!

That’s it for now, but I’m sure there’s more news to come soon! – jak

We are neck deep in re-working the menu for next year to include some customer requests and accomodate for our new kitchen facilities and are looking to bounce a few menu items off some folks to see what they think…I suppose we’ll do this a few times to see what folks think about additions to the menu.  SO, here are a few for you:

• Pulled Pork Chili with Pinto Beans and Black Eyed Peas
• Fresh Hush Puppies
• Garden Fresh Salads and Fresh Fruit Trays
• BBQ Spaghetti

WELL..that oughta’ get you thinking!  I would personally welcome any feedback, thoughts, suggestions, personal experiences, etc. that you might have about these items!  Just cause they’re here doesn’t mean that they’ll wind up on our menu, but they are concepts that have made it past the smoker so-to-speak!

Thanks in advance for your input!